Indigo Girl
by fee-kh
Summary: Some people wouldn't recognise love if it hit them over the back of the head.
1. His

Take a generous helping of the Gilmore Girls, a pinch from 'A Date with Tad Hamilton' and add the song in the title, mix well and serve with ice and a sprig of peppermint.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or 'A Date with Tad Hamilton' or even the song Indigo Girl (if you haven't heard it yet, I urge you to look it up). This is not a crossover fic, but you could say that it is a story about the first, inspired by a line in the second and a song.

A/N: This is my first PDLD, and I am not even going to admit how long it took me to figure out what that meant. Sadly over here - in Germany - we only get the subbed voices, so I have not had the pleasure of hearing the excellent Aussie accent I am sure Finn has, till I do or the season comes out on DVD over here - which will take forever considering we have just been granted season ONE- I am going to have to use my imagination. I have a good imagination.

And I prefer Finn anyway, because Logan is so pale. Has anybody else noticed how pale that boy is? He makes Tristan look way beyond tan and I thought _he_ was too pale. I am always tempted to write a fic where Logan is a vampire in hiding, but I digress. One-shot hopefully as I have so many stories on the burner I am running out of space.

I have thrown in a couple of references to films I have seen, just because I can. Some obvious, some obscure, some are practically signposted.

**Indigo Girl**

Finn sat in an armchair, staring into the murky depths of his Gin glass. 'I'm sure it was full just now.' Disinterestedly he wondered why he was so down. Head falling back against the headrest, he contemplated what was different about this party. Why did it not grip him the way the LDB parties usually did. All the usual suspects were there. Logan was lounging in another armchair closer to the raging log fire in the fireplace big enough to roast a whole oxen, a beautiful buxom blonde over-spilling his lap and plastering herself all over him. Logan didn't seem to mind one bit. Colin was leaning against the wall, obviously torturing himself as he watched Stephanie get off with some random rugby player on exchange from Scotland. Finn didn't understand why Colin just didn't move on and get over it already. It couldn't be that bad.

'No that's not it.'

The alcohol was good, better than at some of their other parties. The food had been great until the food fight, which had been fun. That couldn't have been it either.

There was no shortage of pretty ladies to choose from, but somehow he just wasn't tempted.

All thoughts screeched to a halt, as Finn tried to process what he had just thought. He thought it again just to taste it for flavour. 'I'm not tempted by all the beautiful, luscious, buxom, - no, I can't even talk my way there. I, Phinneas Morgan the Third am not interested in any of the delectable woman paraded here in this house for my entertainment.' He slumped and pressed the lukewarm glass in his hand against his forehead and groaned. A long, loud groan that froze everybody else in their tracks.

"You okay, mate?" Logan asked, clearly concerned as Colin drifted closer, finally distracted now that Stephanie had stopped plastering herself to rugby guy.

"No, Logan." Finn spat out. "I am not okay." He groaned again, more pitiful than before, if that was even possible. "I think I'm dying."

Colin's laugh trailed off when he realised that Finn was serious. "What gives you that idea?"

Finn let his head fall to the side so he could look at his best friends. "You see all the beautiful women in this house?"

"Yeah. We're not blind." Logan answered.

"All the blondes, redheads that are just dieing for someone to come over there and make them happy for just one night, no strings attached?"

"Again, we're not blind, or dumb."

Finn sighed a bone deep sigh, letting his whole body fall forward until his head rested on his knees and mumbled something.

Colin stumbled. "What was that? I thought I just heard you say you weren't attracted to any of them."

Finn looked up at him with tragic eyes and repeated himself: "I -AM-NOT-ATTRACTED-TO-ANY-OF-THEM." His face disappeared once again against his knees as Colin, Logan and even the rugby player stared at him in shock.

"Don't even say that as a joke, mate." Logan managed to get past the horror in his throat.

"I'm not joking. None of them tempt me even in the slightest. I'm dieing."

"All right, everybody out who doesn't belong here." Logan took charge. This was serious.

Stephanie made it up to the rugby player with a steamy kiss that had Colin foaming at the mouth, while Logan just deposited the blonde at the door with a 'don't call me, I'll call you.'

Now it was just the inner circle, sitting in the armchairs by the fire, staring morosely into the distance. Steph broke the silence first.

"So you're saying?"

"Not one of them." Finn moaned. "I have not a sexual thought in my entire body."

He looked at Logan. "Buddy, I want you to hold the eulogy at my funeral."

"Now, don't overreact, Finn." Colin interjected. "Maybe it's just the girls here, I mean it is the same ones we see every party, maybe you're just bored with them."

Finn perked up at this. "You think so? Really? You're not just comforting the dead man walking?"

"Course not. Tell you what. The four of us will go out and hit all the pubs and bars in town. I guarantee you that we will find somebody that interests you before the night is out."

"And I heard that the Harvard football team is here and they brought all their cheerleaders." Steph added. "I hear they have a couple of new ones from California."

Finn sniffed and nodded, still not entirely comforted.

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go." Logan was all for it. Anything to get his Australian friend out of his mope.

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Many, many pubs and parties, not to mention every single cheerleader in the state of Connecticut later Finn's situation had not bettered, He was back to staring at a wall, while his so-called best friends in the world got off with various people they had never seen before and would probably never see again. He was so jealous he could have spat. Steph had hooked up with a Harvard football player of all things, the rugby player apparently forgotten. Colin had decided to give up moping for the night and was currently trying to get the Swedish barmaid to agree to date him for one night. Logan meanwhile had found the identical twin to the blonde he had had attached to him when this night's endeavour started. It could of course be the same one but Finn wasn't sure. In his experience beer goggles did not actually help when trying to decide if somebody was pretty or even someone you had met before.

That tickled something in his mind. 'Someone I have met before. Who?' Finn had no idea whatsoever why that particular thought had his mind tingling, maybe it was just the booze. Shaking off the feeling he went back to cataloguing what was bothering him.

'Logan, Steph and Colin all present and correct. Well, almost correct. I mean honestly a Harvard man. Ugh.' Swirling the last drop of Scotch around the glass didn't help either and that had always been so soothing. All his vices were deserting him, no women, no alcohol. 'I'm too young to be a monk.'

The pubs had been full and there had been plenty of ladies. But none of them tempted him.

'What is wrong with me?' Finn felt terrible. It wasn't fair. 'I'm an extremely good-looking young man with things going for me, not to mention my way beyond sexy accent. Women are all over me and I don't want them.'

His eyes raised to the ceiling and glared at - nothing. 'You're punishing me, God, aren't you. I knew you had it in for me.'

Eyes forward again Finn went back to metaphorically watching the paint dry. 'Maybe it is something about today.' He wasn't sure if it would help, but something was different today, he just had to put his finger on it and then he could go back to being old Finn, lover of women Finn, despoiler of willing not so virgins Finn. 'Aahh the good old days.'

Muttering to himself, Finn let the day's events pass in front of his inner eye. "Let's see. Slept till eleven, like always. School day after all. Got up, had a shower, got dresses. Had coffee. Went to Lit class to see what I had missed. So far so normal. Came home, got ready for party. Went to party. Teased Rory. Had food. Hang on!" Finn sat upright, finally able to pinpoint what was wrong with his day. There had been no Rory teasage. Why was there no teasage?

"Why was there no teasage?" Finn shouted, once again freezing his friends in their tracks.

"Where's Rory?" he demanded of Logan, who simply looked at him way beyond confused.

"She has a final tomorrow, said she had to learn. Why?"

Finn was excited. He had finally figured out where his day had gone wrong. "There was no teasage. I always get up and do my routine. You know chuck out girl from night before, get dressed, go to class to see if I missed anything, come home and get ready for party."

"And?" Colin prompted, clearly not happy that Finn's outburst had lost him his moment with the Swedish barmaid.

"And then we go to the party and Rory is there and I go up and say 'Have we met?' and then she says 'Many times' and then we banter and I tease her," He waved his hands to underline his point. "And she goes all blushy and then we banter a bit more because nobody banters like Rory, she's really intelligent and stuff and then we laugh and I go off and have a blast." He looked at his friends who were sporting various looks of confusion.

"Man, no Rory means no banter, no teasing no blushing and no laughing. No fun." Finn leaned back, clearly pleased with his deduction. Logan and Colin's jaws were well and truly on the floor now that they realised what Finn had been saying without really saying it. Steph, far better at recovering from blows like this decided to ask the pertinent questions.

"So what you are saying is that you miss Rory?"

"Yes."

"Because she's intelligent and doesn't let you get away with things?"

"Yes."

"And she makes you laugh."

"Yes."

"And your evening isn't complete until you have seen her?"

"Yes!"

Colin decided to put his two cents worth in there.

"And because you fell for her and want to shag her?"

"Yes! I mean. NO! I mean.." Finn trailed off, unsure what he meant.

Logan took pity on him. "Finn you've fallen for Rory Gilmore."

"No I haven't. I don't like women. Remember?" He smiled up at Logan, then frowned. "Don't I?"

"Finn. I'm telling you, you've fallen for Rory."

"No, because then I would stay away from all the girls - oh."

"Yes, oh."

"No, that's not good. I'm ladies-man Finn. Not one-woman Finn."

"Not even if it's one-Rory Finn?"

Finn's eyes glazed over at the thought of flirting with Rory, spending time with her, kissing her and -

"Crap."

Steph had come to a conclusion. "My guess is that you fell for her pretty fast but were too dumb to notice."

"Hey!"

"Aw, shut up. You know I'm right. So your heart decided to intervene, no more lascivious thoughts. And it worked. Like magic. Abracadabra and hey presto we have a changed man."

The Swedish barmaid had been leaning on the bar listening in unashamedly. Her voice was throaty and dusky as she decided to give some much needed advice, Obviously these kids wouldn't be able to find their way through a real love affair to save their lives, or other body parts.

"Listen to me, Finn. There are three kinds of love. The first is a small love. That you can get over in two weeks. The second is a big love. That kind takes you two years to get over. And then there is the third. The great love. That you never get over; it changes your life forever. So which one do you have?"

Finn, pale as a new moon, stumbled to his feet and said: "I don't know."

"Well, Finny, I suggest you find out and do something about it." With that parting shot the woman turned around and went to the other end of the bar to serve another customer.

Colin looked at his friend and took pity on him. "Think about it, but one thing. Rory is not a two-week love."

Finn turned tormented eyes to him and nodded his head. Without another word he left the bar and stumbled into the night.

Colin and Logan looked at each other. "Crap. First one to fall." Chinking their glasses they toasted each other. "It was a great run while it lasted."

Steph turned back to the bar, saddened that Finn had managed to stumble on something she desperately wanted. When another shot glass appeared under her nose, she noticed that the barmaid was back. "Just out of curiosity. How did you know that? Psych major?"

The barmaid winked. "Nah, my favourite film is 'A date with Tad Hamilton'. I always wanted to say that line. Barmaid says that to Topher Grace."

"He's hot." Steph giggled as the barmaid laughed and nodded.


	2. Hers

Disclaimer: I do not own the Gilmore Girls. If I did I would be a lot richer and Tristan wouldnever have left.

A/N: So some confusion due to me being a total spaz. It was supposed to be one chapter, but I decided to split it, but forgot to reread the author's note on the first part which quite emphatically stated that it was a long one-parter. Seeing as it is neither I hope you forgive my stupidity.

_Chapter Two: Hers_

"The life president of Dshiboutie…"

Sigh

"The life president of Dshiboutie has full presidential and…"

"Huh. The life president has full executive and…"

"The life president of Dshiboutie has full executive and judiciary…"

"Why is this so hard?"

Rory slammed her economics book closed in a matter more reminiscent of her mother than herself and stared out of the window onto the rain-lit square. Studying for her last exam in the finals this semester was becoming more of a chore than she had ever thought. The economic situation in Dshiboutie held no interest for her whatsoever. Forcing herself to focus, Rory reopened the book in her lap and attempted to study.

"The life president of Dshiboutie has full executive and judiciary power, making it difficult for companies to establish themselves in this country without paying a hefty bribe up front. God, this is crap. Why do I need to learn this anyway? It's not like it's a tragedy if I don't get top marks in one subject."

Rory froze, coffee cup slipping from her limp hand to smash on the floor. Dumbly she stared down at the remnants of her favourite learning-cup.

In a monotone voice she repeated herself. "It's not like it matters if I get a less than stellar mark in this subject anyway."

The next came out in a strangled scream: "PARIS!"

"What! You had better have a good reason if you disturb me in the middle of studying for my finals." Paris Gellar stormed into the room, her beautiful face frozen in an expression of disgust. She was stopped in her tracks by the sight greeting her in Rory's room.

Rory's textbook had fallen to the floor next to the shards of her mercifully empty coffee cup. Rory herself lay curled up in her armchair, eyes firmly closed, hands clamped over her ears. All she needed now was an extra hand to cover her mouth and she could have been an amalgamation of the evil Chinese monkeys.

"What's the matter Gilmore. The economic situation of Dshiboutie getting the better of you?"

Rory turned tragic eyes in her direction. "I'm sick."

Paris sighed. "Why do you think you are sick?"

Rory's eyes flashed. "I'm not thinking anything. I know it. I was sitting here trying to learn about the oh so unimportant country of Dshiboutie, except for those who live there of course. Very important for them, obviously and the president would not want his country to be unimportant because he only has the one country to be president of."

"You're babbling."

"Right. Anyway, I was trying to drum this stupid stuff in my head when I thought," the next came out in a whisper so low Paris did not catch it.

"Pardon?"

"I said, I thought that it wouldn't't matter if I didn't get a fantastic grade in this one subject." Now it was Paris' turn to freeze as the full horror of Rory's situation penetrated her mind.

"You're sick."

"THANK YOU. That's what I've been saying for the last five minutes. What am I going to do?"

"Phone Lorelai." Paris stated in the firm belief that Rory's mother was able to fix anything. "Right now. Come on. Bip bip bip."

Rory glared at her as she dug out her mobile. "You watch way too much TV. I mean yes Alec is hot, but you actually think Normal is a great character. I despair of your taste sometimes."

"Hey, I'll have you know that Normal's character espouses all that is best in capitalism. We should all see him as an example."

"Whatever rocks your boat, Paris." Turning her back on her roommate, Rory called the rock in her life.

The phone was answered on the tenth ring by an extremely groggy voice. "Yah?"

"Mom?"

"Who else would it be. Fruit of my loins you had better have a really good reason for waking me up at the insane hour of insane-o-clock."

"I'm very sick Mom."

"No you're not. Cause you are talking to me on the phone right now. Not nice to make fun of your mom when she is sleepy and has had no coffee in her body for the last four months."

"Yes, I am. I was studying when I had the thought that the grade tomorrow didn't matter."

"That's nice, sweetie, Mommy is going back to - YOU WHAT?"

"I thought the grade tomorrow didn't matter."

"You're right something's wrong. Give me forty minutes. I'm coming over."

"Thanks Mom, and drive carefully, don't want little Rory to be woken up."

"Will do. See you in a bit."

"She's coming over."

"I gathered that, Gilmore. Now go back to learning, I am quizzing you in ten minutes. Maybe that will help."

Ten minutes later it was apparent that even the threat of Paris coming down on her like a ton of bricks in a quiz that could best be described as diabolically simple, was not enough to get Rory in gear.

"What's the capital of Dshiboutie?"

"Um, Islamabad?"

"No. What form of government does D. have?"

"Representative democracy."

"Hardly. You're not even trying. What is the best way for a foreign investor to get his money into the country?"

"He asks nicely? Honestly Paris I have no idea, this stuff is just not sticking in my head. And honestly I don't care."

"You have to care. I can't let you not care. If you stop caring then you stop learning and then your grades will fall and you will leave Yale and I will be left here alone with Doyle. You can't do that to me. I wont let you."

"Gee Paris, I'm glad to see my plight affects you so much." Rory mumbled. This was shaping to be a long night.

After interminable minutes of more Paris grilling which yielded nothing but the fact that Rory had even forgotten the stuff she had known the previous day, Lorelai finally made her appearance at Yale, bundled up in a thick coat over her pyjamas. There was a huge bag in her arms and a flask of coffee stuck in one pocket.

"Mini-Me! Sweetheart, what is the problem?"

Before Rory could answer, Paris cut in: "It's horrible, she's turning into the amazing not-elephant. Has an attention span like Dory." She noticed their looks and muttered: "What? I watch films."

When neither of the others answered, Paris huffed and stormed back to her room.

"So, what's the problem, Rory. What's with the learning problems? You're never usually like this."

"I don't know. It's just all so blah! Who cares about the inner workings of Dshiboutie."

"Dshi-whattie?"

"See! Who cares?"

"You usually, sweetie. What's really the matter?" Lorelai was truly concerned now. Her little study bunny was not behaving as usual.

"I don't know. It's just so hard to care and I don't know why. I love studying, why is this so hard, why can I not care about Dshiboutie. I hate that country."

Lorelai sighed. "Maybe it's not Dshi-thingy's fault. Maybe you just don't feel like learning."

"No, no, no. That is just not acceptable. I love learning, learning is my life."

"Aha!"

"Aha, what?"

"Well, at first just aha in general, but bear with your old mother okay. Maybe you're just tired of learning so much. You've always been learning girl. Tate has nothing on you. Someday you just had to crack. We'll figure out the problem and I will fake a tragedy tomorrow and you can postpone the test."

"Okay."

"Okay? Sweetie, now I'm really worried. You just let me commit heresy without a blink."

Rory's lip trembled and she sank into her mother's welcoming arms, taking her with her onto the sofa. A long moment later, Rory finally detached from her Mom.

"Okay again?" Lorelai asked.

"That and little Rory kept kicking me."

Lorelai fondly patted her stomach. "Takes after me. If it had more of Luke, baby would be tucked in nice and tight and sleeping away. All good. I think it would sleep better if I had some coffee, but Luke forbade me."

Rory smiled a watery smile. "It's not much longer. I can't wait. Luke just let you go?"

"Well, he wasn't happy about me driving so late at night, but you're his girl. Wanted to come himself, but somebody has to open the diner tomorrow and I promised not to drive back until then. But he sends his coffee, a hug which I already gave you and lots of goody food."

"Food? Luke food?" Paris popped her head back in. "Can I have some?"

Rory smirked. "Why? Dshiboutie not doing it for you?"

Lorelai patted her head and said: "Of course you can have some, Paris. I had Luke pack a little extra."

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A long while later, the food having been demolished and Paris having returned to her studies, Lorelai and Rory were curled up on the sofa, softly chatting.

"I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Well, sweetie, maybe that's the problem. You have had countless years of never being bored learning maybe it's time you had a break. Everybody has phases like this. This is yours."

"Maybe she's in love." Paris commented from the door.

"What's with you, Paris? You never let anything get in the way of learning. And yet here you are, popping in and out asking questions." Rory was curious and hopeful, maybe if Paris didn't feel like learning either she could blame it on the water.

"No, I'm just revising stuff I know already. Plus this is way more interesting. The great Gilmore fallen from the echelons of academia into the foothills of slackerism."

"Nicely put study-freak."

Lorelai had missed the exchange, due to something catching her attention. "Why do you think she's in love, Paris?"

"Well, you know how usually people stop eating when they are in love. Well, Rory loves learning way more than food, so it would make sense for her to stop learning when she is in love."

"In some weird, psychotic way that actually makes sense, you know."

"MOM. I'm not in love. If I was, I would know wouldn't I?"

Lorelai and Paris shared the 'look'.

"Don't do that. You're doing the exclude Rory look because she is so clueless. I hate it when you do that."

"But it's true, sweetheart. You are clueless. Case in point Dean mark one."

"And Tristan." Paris piped in. "He was totally into you and you were so totally oblivious it wasn't even funny."

"And then there was Jess."

"And Marty."

"Naked guy?" Lorelai asked.

"Yup, that's the one. He really really likes our Rory. And she's convinced they are just friends."

"We are. Just friends."

"Sweetie, have I taught you nothing. Men are never just friends. They always want into your pants."

"You're quoting Harry and Sally. That is not an argument."

"I can't believe you just said that with a straight face. Billy Crystal said it, ergo it is true and an argument." Lorelai smirked triumphantly at her daughter, sure that they were on the right track.

"So have you met anybody new lately?" Paris asked.

Rory frowned. "I don't know why you think this is the reason. I told you I'm sick!"

"Just humour us honey." Lorelai soothed. "We'll do this like Sherlock Holmes. Eliminate the impossibilities and whatever is left has to be the truth no matter how outlandish it sounds. Darn. I should have a pipe. Hey Paris, you can be Watson."

"Why do I have to be Watson? I am way more intelligent than you.!

"Hey! I called dibs. So there." Lorelai stuck her tongue out at Paris.

"You know considering you are going to be a mother for the second time, you're way immature." Paris stated.

"Why thank you. I converse regularly with my inner id."

Rory only rolled her eyes. "Listen can we get back to the topic. You think I'm in love. I'm going to prove that I have something like narcolepsy or something. An early case of Alzheimers maybe."

Lorelai and Paris both scrunched their noses, shared another glance and got back to their new pet project.

"So, back to the question. Have you met any new guys lately?"

"Paris, you're in the same classes I am. You would know if there were any new students. And there hasn't been anybody new. Same circle of friends as last year."

"Well, that's not exactly true, there's Logan and his friends. They're new."

Rory scoffed. "Well, yeah, but have you seen them. Vacuous and only interested in their own fun. They wouldn't know a library if it fell on their head and concussed them. I mean just take Finn."

"Yes, let's take Finn." Lorelai crowed. She'd liked the handsome Australian from the moment she had met him. Of course, that might have had something to do with the fact that he had dropped down on his knees in front of her and offered to give up all worldly pleasures and whisk her away to a little island in the Caribbean.

Paris grinned, as she echoed: "Yeah, let's take Finn."

Rory smiled: "See, told you. He's the most annoying person, EVER. Did you know that he is in six of my classes and he's never shown up once. No, going to mere tutorials and lectures is too much to ask for the mighty Finn. But whenever there's an exam he's there and he always gets good grades. It's so annoying. He's never in the library and believe me I've looked. I thought he was probably getting in some sneaky studying when no-one is looking. But no, Finn doesn't need to work, it all just comes flying into his lap. Every time we meet he always pretends he doesn't know me, and that joke's getting old fast, I can tell ya." In her agitation Rory jumped up and started to pace the room, completely missing the significant looks her mother and room mate were one again exchanging. "Why does he have to be so annoying?" She asked no-one in particular, and without waiting for even a pretend answer continued her rant. "He's always hooking up with these bimbo redheads, parades them around for a night and then dumps them the next morning. Well, when I say dump I mean refuses to call, because dumping implies some form of relationship." She took a deep breath.

Lorelai and Paris meanwhile had found a bag of crisps somewhere and were happily munching away while enjoying the floorshow.

"Where was I?"

"Dumping implying a relationship." Paris supplied helpfully. This was way more enjoyable than learning, not that she would ever admit it.

"Right, right. I mean how stupid does he think those girls are. And how pathetic do you have to be to just put up with that. He's obviously intelligent, otherwise he would have been shucked out ages ago, so why can't he find some nice girl and have a real relationship. Somebody nice and intelligent."

"Somebody like you?" Lorelai piped in.

"Yes! I mean NO! Not me, no way. We would kill each other within a week. He's always teasing me and making me blush and then goes off to find some random female who doesn't tax his brain cells too much. God forbid that he actually have to think in a relationship."

"I thought you said he didn't have any relationships." It was Paris' turn to put her oar in.

"He doesn't. Different female every night or as near as never mind."

Lorelai swallowed her lastcrisp and decided it was time for some home truths. "Honey, it sounds like you're jealous."

Her daughter went brickred. "I'm not jealous!" Taking in the disbelieving faces in front of her, she continued: "Really, I'm not jealous, he can do whatever he wants. Yup, He's his own man. Nope, not jealous at all."

"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much." Paris quipped.

"Hey! No protesting. I'm all non-protesty girl."

"I think you like him." Lorelai said, only to immediately shush her girl when she opened her mouth to speak. "Nope, listen me out. Finn is funny, charming and witty. He knows almost as many films as we do. He looks great and let me tell you if I wasn't happily married and just about the size of a beached whale I would have totally remotely considered the island idea. The two of you have so much chemistry. Anybody can see it."

Rory opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"She's right, Rory. We all know that you don't have the best track record when it comes to realising you're in love or in like if you prefer, but fact is that something is keeping you from learning. So we figure out what it is, you go and fix it and then I am not alone here next year, because we both know that that is not an option." Paris leaned back with crossed arms, convinced she had made her point.

"Okay, so there may be some chemistry. But that is bad. He's such an irritating little - …" Words failed her.

"Cutie-pie?" Lorelai.

"Aussie hunk?" Paris surprisingly.

"He is not a hunk!"

"Oh, please. He's totally a hunk. Tell me you haven't imagined what he would look like in a pair of those skin-tight miniscule speedos." Paris scoffed, then screeched with delight, when she took in Rory's flushed and dazed expression.

"Hah! I knew it. You totally have thought of him in speedos." Rory blushed an even deeper shade of red.

"Daughter! You haven't!" Lorelai smirked. "So you have finally developed your naked stare. Good on you."

Rory groaned, dropped her body into a chair and her face into her hands. "What am I going to do? So I have feelings for ladies-man Finn. It's all going to end in tears. I'm going to have my heart stomped on and will end up a bitter old woman who is eaten alive by her one thousand cats."

Lorelai took pity on her. "Sweetie, I wish I could make it all go away for you. Let you live in a world without heartache, but this is the way it is. Decide what you want and go for it. Yes, you may get your heart broken, but you will never know what the possibilities might have been. Finn is a good man. Trust him. I'm sure he won't let you down."

Rory sighed, braced herself and stood up. "I'm going for a walk. I have to think." Picking up her jacket and keys, Rory left the dorm.

Paris and Lorelai looked at each other and shrugged.

"I'm going back to learning, Lorelai. Thanks for the food."

"No problem. Don't stay up too late. Ooops, I mean later than now. Big test tomorrow. I'll tidy up and then lie down in Rory's room."

"Right. Night, Lorelai."

"Night, Paris."

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A/N2: So, both Rory and Finn have gone walkabout. heehee. Oh, the possibilities. I am debating where they bump into each other, because we all know that they will. Library is her turf and the pubs are his so I was thinking somewhere neutral neither of them would normally go. I mean they are trying to avoid each other, are they not?

A/N3: Now I have forgotten what PDLD means, Darn. i think it is something along the lines of punch drunk lovers.

A/N4: As much as I would like to bask in the feeling that I write so well even though I am German,I have to confess I'm not really. my Mom's from Scotland, so I kinda grew up bilingual and studied over there. But thanks anyway for the compliment, made me feel all fuzzy.


	3. Theirs

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, but I'm sure the Palladino's don't mind sharing. They seem like a cool couple.

A/N: No, no, no, no, no. I demand sympathy. I just lost three pages of this. If I wasn't so tired I'd be sobbing right now. Three hours of typing. Definitely going to cry. So once more unto the breach.

So, I think this is the last part. Keep an eye on the complete button. If it is not there then once again I have forgotten to change this bit. Could be there is another chapter. Never mind.

A/N2: The thing in the computer room is based on something that happened to me, sadly it took me ages to figure out that this is the sophisticated version of running up to a girl on the playground and tugging her braids. Cool trick though and now that I know how it is done it is that much cooler. Definitely A for effort.

I apologise in advance if they are OOC.

_Chapter Three: Theirs_

Slowly, numbly Rory left the set of rooms she shared with Paris secure in the knowledge that her mother would most likely be sleeping in her bed when she got tired.

Surely her and Paris were wrong, they had to be wrong. No way would Rory have missed something as earth shattering as being in love with Finn, right? This was vital stuff. Sure, she needed to be smacked over the head by Lane in order to know about Dean. And she hadn't known about Tristan, if she was really honest with herself, until said man had told her how much he had wanted to kiss her five minutes before leaving for military school and never returning. She flushed slightly when she remembered her obliviousness regarding Jess' intentions and the disaster that had been Dean mark two. But she'd grown up, right? That's what college was all about. Growing up and learning. Learning how to deal with life and being in love with one of your best friends.

Rory sighed in frustration. She hadn't come here to fall in love. She was here in Yale to learn. Learn for the rest of your life and not to meet the love of your life before you even had a chance to experience other things.

"NO!" Rory said out loud, shaking her head to clear it from that particular thought. "That is not what is happening here. He is not the love of my life. I'm not ready for that. I don't want my life to be like that." Uncomfortably however the thought impinged on her consciousness that life was what happened while you were planning other things.

Resolutely Rory turned her thoughts to other topics, suppressing the thought that she was procrastinating from having to deal with the really important issues.

"They're wrong about Marty. I just know they are. It's all a figment of their imagination. He is not in love with me. He's a friend nothing more."

Rory groaned and sank down on a convenient bench in the quiet secluded park her feet had carried her to. Obsessing about whether or not Marty was infatuated with her was beside the point and did not resolve the situation with Finn. If he was there was nothing she could do about it, as she only liked him as a friend. Seeing as he had never let his maybe-attraction get in the way of their friendship, Rory decided to ignore it. It would only embarrass Marty to know that she knew. No good could come from that.

Looking around she realised that the secluded park she thought herself in was nothing of the sort, it was simply a part of the campus she did not often frequent, namely the small park at the entrance to the football pitch.

"Well, that's fine. Nobody is going to look for me here." she mused settling in for a long think. Fortunately the moon was out and combined with the soft glow of the streetlights illuminated the area quite nicely. It was almost romantic. All she needed now was a knight in shining armour on a white charger and she would be set. Soaking in the atmosphere, it took her a while to realise that in her haste to leave the apartment she had failed to pick up the basic tools of her trade, namely pen and paper. How the hell was she supposed to methodically lay out the plus/minus list concerning loving Finn if she didn't have paper to write on or even if she did, something to write on it with.

"This is just fabulous." Rory groused. However, just as she was about to jump up and retrace her steps in a effort to claim the missing utensils a memory of something her mother had once said to her intruded.

"Sweetie, not everything can be solved with lists. I know you would like it to be so, but it just isn't possible. And love is one of those things. It is not something you can just decide on. A plus/minus thing, where you can weigh the advantages and disadvantages and then make your decision. It just is. You can fall in love with the most random person, often at first sight and nothing can change that. It's not a conscious thing. You either are or you aren't. And no list is going to change that."

At the time her mother had been talking about a nice young man her grandparents had been shoving her way. Derek had been everything she could have wanted in a man, nice intelligent and caring, but there just wasn't any sparkage. Rory had felt terribly bad about not being able to like him as everybody - bar her mom who just wanted her happy - thought she should.

Looked like her mother was going to get her wish. For the first time in as long as she could think, Rory was going to make a decision without the benefit of a list.

"If I just knew where to start."

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Finn stalked through the night, lips quirking in a smile when yet another freshman scuttled out of his path after taking one look at his thunderous expression.

He felt no real pleasure however. Morosely gazing at the scenes of past exploits instead. And there were numerous. There was the tree behind which he had convinced the Psych TA to partake in some outdoor nookie. And a little further on was the fountain in which Marie - or was it Claire - and he had pranced around, finding out to his pleasure and Marie/Claire's chagrin that white wasn't the only colour to go see-through when wet.

The Phi-Beta sorority house brought a host of memories. He was just glad that the sisters were as bad at remembering names as he was, otherwise he would have been in a world of trouble ages ago.

Which brought him back to the real reason he was wandering the campus at night. From the first time he had seen her he had never forgotten her name. Sure he pretended that he had as a joke but that was all it had been. A pretence. A vain attempt to ignore the warning signs.

And the fact that Rory's name, her real name not some random nickname, had stuck in his mind so easily should have been as obvious a fact as a pink elephant in a tutu.

When he had listed his daily routine to the boys, he hadn't been entirely honest. He saw Rory more often than simply at LDB events. Coffee breaks, the occasional trips to amusement parks, mainly when he thought she was working too hard. Without realising it Rory had already changed his life and yet he had still held on to bedding a different girl every night.

And now all that would be over. It would be one woman for as long as the relationship held. The thought wasn't as frightening as he thought it would be. Another surprise to add to the long list of surprises this night had brought.

Finn couldn't deny that the thought of being with Rory held enormous amount of pleasure. It made him feel all warm and tingly. The thought of falling asleep with her beside him, waking up with her beside him, seeing that lovely face and those eyes light up. It would be bliss. Right up until he did something monumentally stupid and made her run as far away as her legs could carry her, leaving him hurt in the dust. "But maybe this will be different?" He asked himself almost wistfully.

With a deep sigh Finn dropped to the grass beside a tree. "Who am I kidding? How am I supposed to have a normal relationship when the only one I've ever seen is the dysfunctional hell my parents put me through." Neither of his parents had been willing to bend even the slightest. Not even in the four other marriages they had managed to rack up between them. It was all so messed up.

"Rory doesn't need someone like me. What could I possibly give her?" Another sigh split the night. "I'm just going to have to get over it. And make sure she finds somebody nice. That way I can be sure she is happy." he fell back on the grass, resolutely ignoring the little voice inside his head that was trying to get him to understand that this might not be the best thing and that his reaction to somebody encroaching on his things had never been the most lucid or restrained. "I'm just a regular knight in shining armour aren't I?.

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Rory flopped back on the bench, letting one arm dangle and her thoughts wander. Now that she had decided to not use the list system that had served her so well over the years, she would jut have to let her thoughts wander and see where it would take her.

Unbidden her thoughts turned back to another bench and another time. It had been after another one of those horrid Dean incidents, when she had just realised that she would never be anything but the other woman. She had sat there mourning the loss of her innocence, realising it was impossible to recapture the joys of her first love, that it had been stupid to try simply because she felt so lost in her first year at Yale. It hurt to realise how messed up everything had become and how much the early memories had bee tarnished.

And just when she had reached rock bottom wallowing-wise two things had appeared in her line of sight. One was a pair of expensive loafers and the other a hand holding a double tall latte machiato. And attached to both was Finn, gazing at her with compassion and understanding.

He'd sat with her in comfortable silence as she wrestled her demons and then whisked her away for a fun-filled afternoon at the fair before finally depositing her slightly tipsy and giggling at the door to her dorm.

Rory sighed: "Just like a knight in slightly tarnished armour."

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"Right focus Finn! We have to find a nice young man for Rory. Somebody reliable and … no scratch that. Reliable is boring. She needs somebody she can count on, who is there when she needs him." Finn nodded to himself. Now he was getting somewhere. "Somebody who lightens her oh so serious study or die attitude."

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Rory switched positions once more trying to find a single one that was even remotely comfy. She couldn't go back to her nice comfy bed back at the dorm because one the one hand her mom had probably spread out in it and on he other the whole point of this exercise was to figure out how she felt about Finn and to figure out what she wanted.

Inadvertently her mind wandered back to the week before finals started. She'd been studying online in one of the many computer rooms provided by the university when the first popup appeared on her screen.

x

**Pssst**

x

Rory blinked, confused, dismissed it as a fluke and clicked the box closed.

x

**Pssst!**

x

There was another one. 'Well, twice is a coincidence' Rory muttered to herself. Moving the mouse to hover over the little x she clicked the box closed once more and continued working.

x

**Seriously! Pssst**

x

Now she was getting pissed off. Glancing up sharply she looked around to see no suspicious behaviour. All the students she could see were studiously staring at their screens. And there was nobody she knew anyway. Sitting back down she tried to immerse herself in her work.

x

**Didn't your mom teach you that ignoring people is rude?**

x

Rory huffed. This was getting ridiculous. How was she supposed to get any work done. Frowning furiously she clicked to pop-up closed.

x

**Don't frown kitten. It'll give you wrinkles**.

x

"What?" Rory jumped out of her seat, only to see Finn pop up from the computer he had been hiding behind.

"Problems, kitten?" He snarked with a grin.

Trying desperately to hold on to her indignant expression, Rory instead burst into giggles.

It was only much later that it would occur to her that hacking his way into her computer and playing that trick on her certainly required a level of skill one would not normally assume from a self-professed lazy party-animal. Maybe that had been the moment when he had become more than a one-dimensional cardboard cut-out and turned into an interesting human being with quirks and talents and weaknesses.

She giggled once more. Finn's stunt had made her day, not to mention livened up a very dull evening at her grandparents' house. Her mom had made a comment about playground tactics but Rory had laughed her off at the point.

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Finn was rapidly wearing a groove into the hundred year old lawn in front of the library. "I have to find somebody who her mom will like. And her grandparents." Finn sighed. This was rapidly turning into one the twelve labours. Her mom was a sweetheart but Emily and Richard were another story entirely. They had never agreed on the same man, ever!

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Now that she was finally getting around to taking stock of Finn's role in her life, Rory realised that somehow he had already become a large part of it without her even realising. She saw him every day, at least twice. Once for their regular coffee date which usually was his first and her tenth cup of the day and then at whatever event the LDB planned. She'd missed the last two because of finals.

From that thought she jumped to the last time she'd missed an event. Just as she had been getting ready for the secret party everybody knew about her mother had phoned in tears, wailing that she didn't fit in any of her clothes anymore and that Luke would never love her anymore when she looked like a beached whale with ankles the size of sleeper rails.

Rory had just about managed to hide the laugh bubbling up inside her and promised to come over immediately. Of course that had been the moment Finn had chosen to come pick her up. Although she had no idea how it had happened they had ended up going to Star's Hollow together. Within five minutes of arriving Finn had had her mother in stitches with laughter and even managed to tease a smile out of Luke.

Rory smiled to herself once more. Finn had slipped into life in Star's Hollow remarkably easily. Took to it like a duck to water in fact. "Maybe I do like him?" Rory mused, still unsure of herself. He had passed all her subconsciously given tests with more or less flying colours, he made her laugh, fit into both her lives as if born to it - something none of her ex-boyfriends had ever managed to pull off - and let's face it he was certainly easy on the eyes.

Maybe she did like him. As more than simply a friend. But there was only one way to find out. She would have to go over there and find out.

"No. I can't do that. What if he doesn't like me? Then we can't even be friends anymore." It burst out from her. The only thing that worried her more than telling Finn was finding out that he didn't like her that way - would never like her that way - and would sever all contact. She trusted that he wouldn't laugh, but, all the same, things would be awkward.

"I could just pretend that nothing is wrong and carry on as before. Nobody needs to know." She tried to reassure herself. Only to suffer a flashback to the women Finn had scored in the past weeks and her - quickly suppressed - flashes of murderous rage and jealousy.

"This is stupid! Are you a Gilmore or not? Grandad would be ashamed of your cowardice. Just get up and go over there and …"

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Finn had resumed his restless walking around campus, unable to stay still for longer than a minute. He had completed his mental list of the perfect boyfriend for Rory.

'So you're okay with somebody else kissing her then?' An insidious little voice asked him.

A red haze filled his vision as he pictured Rory in somebody else's arms. His fists automatically balled, twitching to close around the perpetrator's throat.

"Nobody touches my Rory." He growled into the stillness of the night.

'Thought so.' The little voice stated smugly.

Finn sagged, realising that it wasn't in him to try and see Rory happy with somebody else. He wanted her to be happy with him, even though he knew he was the worst investment there could be. But that didn't matter. He wanted to. He had to at least try. And if he was lucky she wouldn't laugh in his face but maybe listen and maybe, just maybe, give him a chance.

Looking up he realised that his feet had carried him to the football pitch and as if in answer to an unspoken prayer, there on a bench lay Rory, one arm and a leg dangling to the ground. Eyes half-closed and talking to herself.

Steeling himself he walked on. "Right. This is it. Courage Finn."

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"Come on Rory, it's not that hard. Just get up and go over there and …"

"And what, kitten?" The slightly accented voice shocked Rory into an upright position as she stared at the man who had monopolised her thoughts for the past hours.

"What are you doing out here? I thought you had a test tomorrow?"

Taken slightly aback Rory gazed at Finn. Clad in slacks and an untucked white shirt, he stood in front of her with his hands buried in his pockets, an unreadable expression on his handsome face.

"I had a lot of thinking to do." she answered. "What about you? Don't you have a party you're supposed to be at?"

"I had a lot of thinking to do?" he echoed, drinking in the sight before him with starving eyes. "Mind if I sit?"

Silently Rory slid over and made room on the bench. Silence fell, only to be broken by the very nervous Rory.

"So what were you thinking about? Where to go on spring break? I hear Tijuana is good. Not that I have ever been there, but they say it's good. Not any specific they, just you know generalised they. Anyway, they say that there are a lot of willing girls there, so maybe you should go there." Finn's face, originally amused by her rambling, fell when he realised how one-dimensional he must look to outsiders. 'Who am I kidding? This is just stupid. She'll never…'

"No, not Tijuana. I'm kinda over that whole different girl every night thing. You know it seems a bit desperate. I was flirting with the idea of settling down." Desperately Finn hoped Rory might pick up the thoughts he was trying to telepathically transmit.

"Wow. That's a big change." She paused, then blurted out with: "So are you in love. Cause love changes everything, they say." Finn startled out of his reverie was just as surprised as she was when he answered honestly. "Yeah."

"Yeah, what?"

"Yeah, I fell in love."

"Oh." Words failed her. Registering the odd look he sent her however launched her straight into babble mode. "So is she a redhead? Cause we all know that you like redheads. Is she nice. Do I know her?"

Finn smiled slightly before answering. "Well, brunette actually. And yes she is very nice and you know her."

Rory sagged, screaming inside. 'Why now? He finally comes out of his different woman every night spiel and it's not me. Why not me? I'm brunette. What's wrong with me?' Nothing had prepared her for the amount of pain she was feeling at that moment, not the break-ups with Dean or Jess, nothing came close to the agony she felt at that moment. If there was still any doubt left in her that she hadn't fallen for Finn it was dispelled by the tide of pain running through her body at that moment. And in a timeless move perfected by all mammals when attacked and hurt, Rory tried to salvage some of her pride and build the wall that would hopefully sustain her when she met Finn and his love.

"Yeah, I kinda fell in love as well."

"What's he like?" Finn managed to grind out past the haze of pain he felt at the thought of once again being too late.

Lost in memories, Rory replied in a dreamy voice: "He's lovely. Good-looking, nice. He brings me coffee. My mother loves him and he makes me laugh."

'It's that Marty guy. I knew it. Of course she is going to fall for the nice guy. Girls like Rory always fall for the nice guy. They never fall for the biggest player on campus. Who was I kidding? Well, if he ever hurts her I am going to go medieval on his ass.' Finn had never felt so lost before.

In an attempt at levity, completely spoilt by the expression on his face he said: "Well, if he breaks your heart me and the boys are going to have something to say about it."

"He already has." Rory's hands flew to her mouth when she realised that she had just said that last thought out loud.

"He what? I'm gonna kill…" Finn stilled when he felt Rory's hand on his arm.

"Don't, Finn. There's nothing you can do. He doesn't love me. You can't force something like that. There either is love or there isn't and if there isn't, there is nothing you can do to change that." A single tear dripped off her nose. Undone Finn gathered her into his arms.

Rory froze, desperately trying to overcome the shivers his touch sent racing through her systems, only tuning back into his words with much effort.

"Don't cry, kitten. He's not worth it. You're the sweetest girl I know. You're sexy and warm-hearted and intelligent and witty. He's stupid not to want you."

That was too much for Rory. Disentangling herself abruptly from his arms, she jumped up.

"I can't do this." Helplessly she looked at Finn. "I've gotta go." And with that darkness swallowed her, leaving behind a dejected Finn wondering when and where his life had taken the turn-off to hell.

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Rory had only taken ten steps when she froze, realising that she had to tell Finn. Despite the fact that he would probably never talk to her ever again, he deserved to know. She knew he wouldn't tell anybody, he was too much of a gentleman to do that. As her mother said, if you don't ask the answer is always no. Granted she had been talking about extra coffee at Luke's at the time, but the principle applied. And even though she knew the answer, Rory had to tell Finn the truth. Turning on one heel, swiping furiously at the tears falling from her eyes, she stalked back the way she came. Drawing herself up to her full height, she looked Finn in the eye and said: "It's you."

"What?"

"It's you. The guy I fell for. It's you. You're funny and you make me laugh. You don't let me get too serious about things and you bring me coffee. And my mom totally loves you. And she said that if she wasn't married and as big as a beached whale she would have totally taken you up on the island thing in the Caribbean. And there is the minor fact that you are totally hunky. So it's you. And I know that you don't love me, because you found somebody else, but I thought I should let you know. You should always let people know you love them. Mom always says life's too short not to. Anyway, I hope you're happy with the girl. I want you to be happy. You deserve to be happy." She took a deep breath, trying to fathom his expression. Seeing nothing but unbridled shock, Rory sighed. "It's okay. Really. I told you. You can't force love. It's either there or it isn't. And I'm going to be okay. I'll get over it. Just don't come round for a while and you'll see it will be just like before. I'll do the get over it thing and we can be friends again." She waited for a response and when disappointed sighed once more, turned and walked off again.

"I don't want you to get over it." Finn's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Excuse me?" She was sure she must have misheard.

"I don't want you to get over me."

Apparently not. Spinning around, Rory was almost glad when she felt anger take the place of heartache.

"That is the most horrid thing I have ever heard you say. How dare you. Who do you think you are? You arrogant pretentious…"

"I lied." His voice was quiet, no inflection there to give her a clue as to what he was feeling.

"You lied. About what? You not wanting me to get over you?"

"No, that part is true." At her thunderous expression he continued quickly. "I was sitting at the party today and I realised that none of the girls tickled my fancy. I thought I was dying." Rory unwittingly flashed back to her own reaction at her revelation of the evening. "So I thought my way through the day and I realised the one thing that was missing to make my day complete." He paused.

"And what was that?"

"You. The one thing missing was you, Rory."

Rory went as white as a sheet, unwilling to believe it. "You're joking. Tell me, you're joking."

Finn stood up and walked over to her, slowly. Reaching up he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, thrilling with pleasure when he saw her unconsciously lean into the gesture. "Let me tell you about this girl I realised I was in love with. She's a brunette, not my usual thing but I can get past that." He smiled at her. "She has the bluest eyes I've ever seen. She's intelligent and witty. A complete coffeeholic and too serious for her own good sometimes. She's sexy and warm-hearted and I want nothing more than to see where it could go. I've been running from relationships for years, never could see myself as a one-woman man." He suppressed another smile when he felt Rory try to extract herself from his arms, instead bringing her in closer as he went for the killer argument. "But that's okay. I'm not meant to be a one-woman man. I'm meant to be a one-Rory man and that's a completely different story."

Rory gasped, relaxing in his arms, letting her own arms drift tentatively around his waist, feeling hope blossom in her chest.

Leaning down he gave her ample opportunity to move away, only to have her hands grab his head and pull him in for a bone-shattering kiss that hummed through their bodies, weakening knees and sending hearts racing.

"You talk too much." Rory managed, holding onto him for dear life, then dragged him in for another kiss that ended with him swinging her around in a circle head thrown back and laughing.

Long minutes later they were back on the bench, their bench, snuggled into each other, occasionally kissing, talking about their epiphanies but more than anything just enjoying the beginning.

"So what happens now?" Finn asked with some trepidation, flashing back to his insecurities about relationships.

Rory smiled at him, blue eyes sparkling in the rising dawn. Swinging around she straddled his lap. "Well first we tell the guys so they can gloat about how right they were and how deluded we were. Then we buy my mom a year's supply of coffee - after the baby has come because I don't want to face the wrath of Luke. Cause without her I would never have admitted to anything. And we will have to think of something for your friends and the nice woman at the bar who can quote movies. I like her already. And After that I might have to punish you for thinking about doing the noble thing." She smiled and kissed him again.

"And then?" Finn asked, sparkle firmly back in his eyes after the angst of the night.

"And then we see where we go. But as sappy as it sounds, it'll be okay, cause we'll do it together."

"I like that." Finn pulled her back for a long kiss.

The last thing a listener might have heard before beating a hasty retreat was Rory ask: "Tell me do you own a pair of speedos?" and Finn's hearty laugh in response, before silence reigned once more.

_The End_

A/N: Oh and yes Dshiboutie is a country, although it is probably not spelt that way - it's the way it is spoken. Somewhere in Africa and I have no idea if it has a dictatorship or not, was just the first country to pop into my head. I know, my mind is a weird place.


End file.
